Machine for folding and classifying towels, etc.



Dec. 24, 1935- J. E. PRESTON 2,025,246

MACHINE FOR FOLDING AND CLAS SIFYING TOWELS, ETC

Filed NOV. 16, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ETC Dec. 24, 1935. J. E. PRESTON OR FOLDING AND CLASSIFYING TOWELS 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 MACHINE. F

Filed NOV. 16, 1953 JOHN E.

Dec. 24, 1935. J;-E PRE T N 2,025,246-

MACHINE FOR FOLDING AND CLASSIFYING T'OWELS, ETC

Filed Nov. 16, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet s mmmmmmmuuummmnnmmunmmmm;

'" mum, I Ell 1,

HIIHIIHIIHNII E I "illlllllllllllll ii lii llilIllIi Illllllllii: W i -Ill rNvENroR-Jon E.Pn:sro

1m BY 7 Dec. 24, 1935. J. PRESTON 2,025,246

MACHINE FOR FOLDING AND CLASSIFYING TOWELS, ETC- Filed Nov. l6, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 94 93 x 86 INVENTORY JOHN E. PR STON,

Dec. 24, 1935. -J. E. PRESTON 2,025,246

MACHINE FOR FOLDING AND CLASSIFYING TOWELS, ETC

Filed Nov. 16, 1935 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 TORNEY ETC J. E. PRESTON Dec. 24, 1935.

MACHINE FOR FOLDING AND CLASSIFYING TOWELS Filed Nov. 16, 1953 7 Sheets-Sheet s 3 W m T a 1;: R 4 m w w h mE C a; V 5 u m N 9 v H 4 w u J 1L Z l .M 4 I. u 4 1 n 2 5 Dec. 24, 1935. J. E. PRESTON MACHINE FOR FOLDING AND CLASSIFYING TOWELS, ETC

7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed NOV. 16, 1953 INVENTOR JOHN E. P

Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED ST T S- MACHINE FOR FOLDING AND OLASSIFYING TOWELS, ETC.

John E. Preston, Newark, N. J. 'Application November is, 1933, Serial N... 698,303

20 Claims.

lar purpose for which the articles are used, however, is of course unimportant. For convenience,

therefore, and without intending to limit the invention the articles may be termed towels.

Apparatus of this kind is especially useful in laundries where it is necessary to handle towels in whatever condition they happen to come from thewashin'g and ironing operation. Frequently the towels are stained or imperfectly washed or torn. The main object, therefore, of my present invention is to provide a folding machine of a suitable character with means for separating the various grades or conditions of towels. This operation is commonly termed classifying. The different grades customarily recognized are, first, wash-overs which for some reason or other must go back to the wash room; second, such towels as are of an inferior quality or condition commonly termed seconds; third, those towels which are in first class condition, commonly termed firsts; and, last, towels which have become.so damaged or torn that they can not be used again without mending or which may be so badly torn as to be of no further use as towels.

These various classifications are determined by inspection by the operator and I have therefore provided means by which the operator can separate in a machine these various grades or classes without stopping the operation of the machine and without any handling on the part .of the operator.

Each of the towels classified as above set forth is counted as it passes through the machine so that a record can be kept of the number of various grades or classes. I may also arrange the first and second grade towels in stacks convenient for bundling in packages of a predetermined numher.

I have also preferably provided means for removing from the machine such towels as may become jammed in the folding operation.

The machine is designed for continuous operation and being electrically driven is under the control of the operator who can stop the machine at any time. The starting and stopping of the machine is preferably accomplished by a foot control switch and the classification or sorting of the various grades of towels is effected by a numbe of hand actuated switches.

One form of folding mechanism will be found shown in detail in Patent 1,858,565, dated May 17, 1932. Furthermore improvements similar types of folding mechanism will be found in application 565,280 filed September 26, 1931.

My application 660,484, filed March 13, 1933, shows-further improvements in one form of folding mechanism together with'means for automatically feeding towels to the folding mechanism.

My present invention utilizes similar feeding means and constitutes improvements in the mechanism for picking up successive towels as well as means for classifying or sorting the various grades above referred to. The classifying or sorting actions are accomplished by electromagnetic devices, whose operation is controlled by a number of push buttons or other suitable type of hand or finger actuated switches.

The towels are picked up by devices which are automatically oscillated to successively carry the front edge of a towel to the feeding grippers and chains which are so arranged as to turn over each towel so that the operator can inspect both sides of it. If the operator determines that a towel requires a rewash, a switch is actuated which causes the release of that towel in such a position that it can fall or. will roll clear of the stack of towels and be deposited on the floor or in some suitable receptacle. If the towel is in a suitable condition to be folded it is allowed to continue to' the folding mechanism. If, however, the towel is of the second grade condition it is'caused to be stacked automatically in a stack of second grade towels after it has been folded. The feeding of the folded towel into this stack is controlledjy a, delay action mechanism which is set by the operator at the instant of the inspection of the towel as" it goes into the machine. If the towel is of the first grade condition it is automatically carried past the first stack to a second stack. If, on theother hand, the towel is tom the operator sets a discarding device which is brought into action at a later time so that-the torn towel is carried through the ma-- chine without being stacked with either the first or second grade towels and ejected to any suitable receptacle or if desired to a subsequent stacking device. a It will be obvious as the specification proceeds that this classification can be broken down into, three or more stacking stages by the use of similar principles of construction and operation. I also provide means for automatically clearing from the folding devices towels which may become jammed and would otherwise interfere'with the Operation of the machine. Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section and side I elevation of mechanism embodying some of the features of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of part of the same.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the machine showing part of the folding mechanism and part of the stacking and counting mechanism.

'Fig. 4 is a side view showing one of the pick-up devices and the elements which support it.

Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of one of the pick-up devices showing it in its normal inoperative position.

Fig. 6 is a similar view but showing the pick-up in its operative position.

Fig. 7 is a 'detail view of a part of one of the pick-up devices.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detail view of one of the pick-up devices.

Fig. 9 is a detail view of one ofthe ejectors for discarding and ejecting a towel which has to be washed over, showing the parts in the operative position, and in conjunction with one of the towel feeding grippers.

.Fig. 10 is an edge view of the same.

Fig. 11 is a detail view of the ejector and selecting mechanism in the inoperative position.

Fig. 12 is a similar view in an intermediate position.

Fig. 13 shows part of the stacking and counting mechanisms looking at the parts on the opposite side of that shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 14 is an end view and partial section of the parts shown in Fig. 13 showing the selecting mechanism for the first and second grade towels. This shows at the right the mechanism associated with the selection of the first grade towels and at the left the mechanism associated with the selection of the second grade towels.

This figure also shows part of the mechanismfor controlling the ejection of the torn towels.

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary detail of part of the ejector mechanism for the torn towels.

Fig. 16 is a transverse sectional view showing the time delay mechanism for selecting the second grade and the torn towels and showing at the left in section the mechanism for selecting the second grade towels.

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary side view of the time delay selecting mechanism.

Fig. 18 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of parts of the stacking mechanism.

Fig. 19 is an enlarged sectional view of a detail of the time delay device.

Fig. 20 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the trigger action for controlling the operation of the second grade selector.

While the invention relates particularly to the pick-up feeding and classifying mechanism, I have designed it particularly to be used with folding mechanism of the type previously mentioned. While I do not wish it understood that the invention is limited to such a type of folding machine, it finds especial utility in connection therewith and will therefore be for convenience described with respect to such folding mechanism. It should be understood, however, that the claims are not intended to be limited to a particular type of folding machine except as specified therein.

In the form shown the machine has a stationmy table top 2| with a plate 22 which is automatically reciprocated over the table top to fold the front edge of the towel over the central portion of the towel, as set forth in the above mentioned .Patent 1,858,565. The opposite edge of the towel is folded over the central portion by means of a reciprocating rod 23, Edge gripping and holding devices are also provided in this type of machine, as set forth in said patent. After the towel has been folded along longitudinal lines by means of the plate 22 and the rod 23, it is centrally creased by means of a swinging member 24, as set forth more fully in my application 660,484. This creasing device serves to tuck a central fold of the towel in between the rollers 25, 25 which carry the partially folded towel downwardly into the guide chute 26.

The horizontally oscillating member 21 is adapted to pass through an opening in the chute 26 to engage the partially folded towelwhich is in the chute and complete the folding action and deliver the folded towel onto the conveyor belt 28, from whence it is delivered onto the belts 29, which will be later described in connection with the stacker.

The entire mechanism is adapted to be driven from an electric motor 38 which is belted to the member 3! of the conventional worm gear drive 32 for the shaft 33. The shaft 33 drives the shaft 34 through gears 35. This shaft 34 carries cams 36 and 31 for actuating the arms 38 and 33 which are connected respectively to the links 40 and 4| which actuate respectively the folding plate 22 and the folding bar 23. Between the rollers 25 and the chute 26 is arranged an arm 42 which is pivoted at 43 and connected at 44 to the link 40 or some part of the plate 22 so that as the plate 22 is reciprocated the arm 42 is swung back and forth between the rollers 25 and the top of the chute 26. In case, therefore. a towel gets jammed into the top of the chute 26 the arm 42 will knock it out so that it will fall It on the floor or into some suitable receptacle, thus leaving the chute clear and preventing the stopping of the machine.

The details of the driving mechanism will be found more fully set forth in my application 660,484.

The cam 45 is driven from the shaft 33by any suitable train of. gears and coacts with a roller 46 on the link 41 which is connected to the parallel motion links 48 which carry the folding member 21. The roller 49 rests on the top of the conveyor 28 so that the movement of the folding member 21 tucks the folded towel between the roller 49 and the conveyor 28 which thus carries the towels successively to the stacking mechanism.

It will be understood that this folding mechanism actuates continuously and folds the towels which are successively delivered to it at properly timed intervals.

The feed chains 50 operate on sprockets 5| and 52 which are arranged above the folding mechanism. The sprockets 52 are carried by a shaft 53 which is driven from the shaft 34 by a chain 54 and suitable sprockets.

Each chain 50 carries a number of pairs of gripping jaws which are arranged to grip the edges of. the towels to be folded and carry them successively to the folding mechanism. Each pair of jaws and its associated parts constitutes a gripping device having jaw members 55 and 56 which are pivotally mounted on a pin 51 carried by the chain. jecting lug 58 and the jaw member 56 has a lug 59 and these lugs are adapted to engage the chain to limit the swinging movement of the gripping devices. The spring 60 on the pin 51 serves to press the tips of the two jaw members together. The jaw member 55 is loose on the shaft 51 and the jaw member 56 is pinned to the shaft.

The shaft also has anextension arm 5| which The jaw member 55 has a. prov is pinned to it and by means of which the jaw member 56 can be moved away from the jaw member for the purpose of releasing the towel. The lug 62 which is integral with the jaw member 55 also serves as a means for actuating the jaw member 55 to open the device when the lug 62 meets an abutment, as will hereinafter be described.

The towels ID or other articles to be folded are brought to the machine in a stack and for convenience supported on a moving platform or tray 'II, which in turn may be supported on ball bearings or roller bearings I2 arranged at the front of the machine beneath the chains 59. 59 where the towels may be picked up successively and grasped by the grippers, previously described, and carried to the folding mechanism.

In order to facilitate the placing of the towels M in their proper position and consequently picking them up in a uniform manner I provide a gauge 13 which'extends across the front of the machine and serves as a locating device. The tray 'II is provided with one or more handles such as 14 by which the tray is manipulated to bring the front edge of the top towel. into a predetermined alignment or position with respect to the edge of the gauge I3. This adjustability of the tray with respect to the gauge is desirable because of the fact that the towels when stacked are seldom arranged with exact uniformity and it is therefore easier to move the stack of towels with respect to the gauge than it is to move an' individual towel with respect to the gauge and much easier than it is to attempt to stack the towels accurately.

The gauge I3 is carried by a pair of arms I5, each of which is provided with a strap I6 which is frictionally supported on a-bearing II which is supported on the shaft I8. This bearing is held from rotation in any suitable manner and the .strap I6 is adjustable so as to vary the frictional resistance to its rotation on the bearing. The adjustment of the bearing is such that the gauge is held in any position to which it may be moved. so that the gauge may be lifted up out of the way of the stack if desired and may also be moved I downwardly to the ,level of the top towel on the stack.

While it is possible to pick up the towels from the stack and insert them by hand into the feeding grippers, it is desirable to perform the pickup operation automatically according to the principles set forth in my application 660,484. The present pick-up devices, however, embody certain improvements over those of my former application and will be later described.

A pick-up device is mounted on each side of the machine and carried by an arm 19 fixed on the shaft I8. The shaft I8 is rocked backand forth by a link and arm 8| which are driven in any suitable manner, as for instance set forth in my application 660,484, the time corresponding with the speed of the feed chains 58 so that the pick-up devices will bring the edges of successive towels into proper position for consecutive gripping by the successive pairs of grippers.

Each pick-up device has a shaft 82 which is supported by one of the arms 19. A block 83 fixed on the inner end of the shaft 82 has a pivot pin 84 which supports a swinging arm 85 on the lower end of which is a foot plate 86. The lateral swinging of the arm 85 is limited by the adjustable screw 8I, the end of which is adapted to be extended more or less into the space between the lugs 88, 88. The arm 85 is under tension of a spring 89 which tends to draw the lower end of the arm 85 outwardly from the center of the machine. Each arm 85 carries a pick-up lever 90 which is hinged at 9| and always held under tension of the spring 92 which connects the upper 5 end of the lever 90 with an adjacent part of the arm 85. The bias of the spring tends to cause the lower end of the lever 90 with its attached needle points 93 to move outwardly away from the center of the machine and the foot plate 86 is provided with perforations to permit the protrusion of the needle points at the proper time. A latch member 94 is carried by the lower end of a rod 95 which slides in the arm 85 and is provided with a pin 96 which is adapted to slide up 15 and down in the slot 91 in. the arm 85. The plunger 95 is normally under pressure of the spring 98' which tends to move the latch downwardly.

Fig. 5 shows what may be termed the normal 20 retracted or raised position of* the right. hand pick-up device. 1 i

In this position the lever 99 is held with the needle points 93 retracted above the foot plate 86 by reason of the engagement of the shoulder 26 99 with the pin 96. When the pick-up device descends the foot 94 ofthe latch engages the top of the stack of towels and compressing the spring 98 releases the pin 96 from the shoulder 99 so that the spring 92 is free to tilt the lever 90 39 about its pivot and project the needle points 93 downwardly and outwardly through the foot plate 86 to engage the top towel near the edge thereof. The inner end of the pin 96 is movable in a slot I80 in the block 83. A projection or shoulder IIII 85 limits the swinging movement of the arm 85 and the pin 96 until the plunger 95 has moved upwardly sufficiently to permit the inner end of the; pin 96 to clear the projection IOI, whereupon the spring 89 pulls the lower end of the arm 85 with 40 the attached pick-up lever and needles so as to stretch the towel laterally, it being understood. of course, that at the left hand side of the machine is located a pick-up device exactly like the i one described but with the pick-up needles and 45 associated parts arranged to move toward the left at the same time that the needles of Fig. 5 movetoward the right.

Fig. 6 shows the position of the right hand pickup device when it has acted to stretch the towel 50 to its full extent, at which time the pin 96 is held above the projection I 9|. Itwill be noted that the swinging movement or lateralLthrow of the pick-up arm 85 is limited by the so ew point 81 between the lugs 88. g I

The pickup devices above described bring th front edges of successive towels into position to be. grasped by the gripping] jaws. As previously described, each gripping device is provided with an arm 6| by which the jaw 56 can be separated from the jaw 55 to provide an opening for the front edge of the towel as the gripping device approaches the edge of thetowel whi h is being held by the pick-up devices. This cpe 'ing movement of the jaws is effected by the engagement of the arm 6| with a stationary cam-like member I93 which gradually opens the jaws to the position shown in Fig. 1.

As the feed chains continue to travel the jaws of the gripping device pass respectively aboverand below the edge of the towel and the arm BI slips off from beneath the pointof the cam I93 and the spring 69 shuts the jaws, so that they grip the towel and carry it toward the folding mechanism.

Just as the grippers engage the edge of the towel the pick-up needles 03 are retracted and stripped from the towel by the foot plate 66. This release or stripping action is effected by mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

A cam I04 rotates with the sprocket II on the stationary shaft I05. An arm I06 is fixed on the shaft I05 and carries a lever I01 which is pivoted to the arm and held under tension of the spring I03 and provided with a roller I03 adapted to be engaged by the cam I06 to oscillate the lever in opposition to the spring.

A push rod H is loosely guided in a block III carried by the shaft 62 and has its lower end connected to the hinge pin H2 in the pick-up lever 90. When the pick-up device has been raised to the upper position shown in Fig. l, the upper end of the push rod IIO comes into position beneath the outer end of the lever I01. The cam I04 is designed and timed to raise the free end of' the lever I01 upwardly and then release the roller I09 so that the spring I06 can apply a resilient blow through the end of the lever I01 against the upper end of the push rod IIO just as the gripping jaws have engaged the towel. This action of the push rod IIO moves the lever- 90 1mm the position shown in Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 5, during which movement the shoulder IOI is tilted to the right of the pin 66 and the arm 85 is swung to the left. The pin I I3 serves as astop forthe lever 00 in this movement. The adjustable setscrew I It serves as an abutment for the lever 90 in its opposite swinging movement and thus serves to regulate the amount of projection of the needle points 03 through the foot plate 66. It will be seen that as the arm 65 swings toward the left, as shown in Fig. 5, the pin 96 will be disengaged from the upper edge of the projection IOI and the spring 06 will throw the plunger and its foot34 downwardly so that the lever 30 is now latched in its retracted position and the arm 65 is at the same time latched against movement toward the right by the engagement of the inner end of the pin 96 with the projection IOI.

A projection II5 may be provided, as shown In Figs. 4 and 6, to facilitate manual release of the pick-up device.

A link H6 is preferably provided and connects arms III and H6 which are mounted respectively on the shafts I0 and 62 to constitute, in connection with the arm I6, a parallel motion device so as to ensure maintaining the bottom of the foot plate and the associated pick-up needles in a horizontal plane substantially parallel with the top of the stack of towels. Each pick-up arm I9 is provided with a projection II3 adapted to engage an arm I5 which carries the positioning gauge I3 so as to automatically lower the gauge after each towel has been removed from the top .of the stack.

It will be seen from the foregoing that as each towel is picked up by its front edge by the pickup devices and carried to the feeding grippers, facility is provided to the operator to inspect the underside of the towel as the towel is fed into the machine. The operator then determines the classification or grade of the towel and its ultimate distribution in the machine.

Disposed adjacent each of the feed chains is a dog or stop lever I20 pivoted at I2I to a bracket supported by a crossbar I22. The details of this mechanism will be seen in Figs. 3 and 9 to 12.

A spring'l23 is connected to the upper end of the lever I20 and normally holds the lower end of the lever out of the path of movement of the lugs 62 of the gripping devices, previously described. These stop levers are adapted to be actuated by suitable mechanism to bring the lower end of the lever I 20 into the path of movement of the lugs 62 and force the gripping jaws apart as the chain travels toward the folding mech- 5 anism.

In the form shown the releasing stop lever is brought into action by an electro magnetic device, such as a solenoid I24 having a plunger I25 connected to the link I26 which in turn is connected to the upper end of the stop lever I20. This solenoid is energized by the closing of a cir-, cuit controlled by a push button I21 and switch in the handle I6 shown in Fig. 1.

Obviously the solenoid may be controlled either directly by the switch or indirectly through a, relay as is common in the electrical art.

The solenoid is employed merely to set the stop -lever I in position at the instant that the push button I 21 is depressed. The bell crank pawl I30 20 is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 11, by spring I3I one end of which is secured to the stationary stud I32 on which the pawl is mounted.

The lever I33 is mounted on the same stud I2I that carries the lever I20 and has a foot which is located adjacent the foot of the lever I20. The upper end of the lever I33 is connected by a link I34 with the upper end of the pawl I30.

In the normal inoperative position of the parts shown in Fig. 11 the spring I23 holds the lever I20 out of the path of movement of the lug 62 of the conveyor grippers and the spring I3'I holds the pawl lever I30 with its lower end pressing against the shoulder I35 on the lever I20. This same spring I3I through the action of the pawl 35 lever I30 and the link I36 holds the lever I33 in the position of Fig. 11. When the operator presses the push button I2'I of a switch in the handle I4, the circuit of the solenoid I24 is energ'ized and the rod I26 pulls the lever I20 into the 40 position of Fig. 9 so that the foot-of the lever I20 stands in the path of movement of the lug 62. When the lever I20 moves from the position of Fig. 11 toward the position of Fig. 9 the pawl I30 is released from the shoulder I35 and snaps from the position of Fig. 11 to the position of Fig. 9, moving with it the lever I33 so that the foot of I33 is in alignment with the foot of I20, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

It will be seen that the pawl I30 has now locked the lever I20 and I33 in the position shown in Fig. 9 so that the de-energizing of the solenoid, caused by the release of the push button switch. has no effect on the release lever I 20.

When the gripping jaws approach the lever I20 the lug 62 rides up the inclined lower end of the lever I20 and thus separates the gripping jaws 56 from 55 and releases the article which is being fed, which drops down onto the floor or into a receptacle which may be provided. 60

As the lug 62 travels along with the conveyor chain it strikes the foot of the lever I33 and as the chain is held down by the guide I36 the spring 60 presses the lug 62 downward and tilts the lever I33 from the position/of .Figs. 9and 10 65 to the position of Fig. 12. The movement of the lever I33 releases the pawl I33 from the lever I20. as shown in Fig. 12 so that the spring I23 can pull and retract the lever I20 back to the position of Fig. 11. It will thus be seen that the operator is able to set the release stop I20 by merely depressing the push button I21, after which the article releasing and the stop resetting actions take place automatically, during which time the operator inspects and determines the disposition of the next article. If the articles being handled are towels or the like, the ones thrown out by the action controlled by the push button I21 would be termed "washovers because the operator has determined that these are to go back and befurther processed without being folded.

It will be understood that articles which are not to be rewashed will go on into the machine and be folded by the mechanism previously described.

The release of the articles at the proper position with respect to the folding mechanism is effected by a stop I40 which is mounted on the table or frame of the machine and is adjustable longitudinally of the machine and clamped by one or more clamp nuts I4I. One of these stops is mounted beneath each of the conveyor chains so that as the gripping jaws move along the lug 62 of each gripping member engages a stop I40 and is thus moved to release the article as previously described.

Articles which pass through the folding mechanism are taken by the belt 28 to the stacking mechanism which may include any number of stacks. In the present instance I have shown two stacks which may be designated as the first arid second stacks I45 and I46, which are to receive what may be termed the first class and the second class towels, respectively.

We may also consider still another classification of folded towels, such for instance as those which have been torn which'are permitted to pass beyond the stacker out of the machine into a suitable container for re-handling, repair, etc.

The plate I50 has openings for the belts 29 and constitutes the bottom plate of the stacker which is supported by the plunger rod I I. This plunger and the bottom plate are intermittently actuated by a lever I52 which in turn is actuated by a cam (not shown) on the main shaft 34 as described in my former application.

The stop I53 is carried by tubular members I54 which slide on rods I55. Normally one tube I54 is supported by a latch I56 which is pivoted on the shaft I51. This latch I56 is held normally in the latching position by a spring I51 so that the stop I53 is in line with the folded article which is carried onto the bottom plate I50 by the belts 29.

Above the plate I50 and on each side of it is a supporting'member or wing I58 which is pivoted at I59 and has fingers which alternate with fingers on the edges of the plate I50, as shown in Fig. 2. These wing plates are held in the normal position of Figi 14 by springs I60.

When each folded article reaches the stop I53 it remains stationary allowing the belts to slip underneath for such period of time as may be necessary for other-actions to take place, which will be described. When the bottom plate I50 rises it lifts the article which is touching the stop I53 and the edges of the article are pushed up between the inner edges of the opposite wing plates I58 which are lifted by the edges of the article so that the edges of the article pass above the wing plates, at which time the springs I65 pull the wing plates back into position so that when the bottom plate I50 descends the article which has just been lifted is left suspended on the inner edges of the wing plates. In other words, the folded articles are inserted successively into the bottom of the stack.

In some cases it may be desirable to count the folded articles or arrange them in predetermined groups or bundles for tieing. For this purpose I provide a second stop I63 which is supported by tubular members I64 on rods I65 similar to those previously described and at the predetermined count I actuate the latch I56 and release the stop I53 so that the folded article instead of stopping in 5 the position determined by the stop I53 passes on to a position determined by the stop I63 and so that the article thus stopped will project beyond the line of the stack as shown at the article I66 in Fig. 3. The action of the latch I5.) is controlled by the movement of a supplemental wing plate I58 which has a projection I61 adapted to engage the roller I68 on the lever I69. The lever I59 is connected by'a link I10 to the ratchet lever I'II whose pawl engages the ratchet I12. This ratchet has on its inner face a projection F13 which engages one end of the lever I56. It will thus be seen that the ratchet I12 is actuated step by step by the wing plate I58. As the wing plate only operates when it receives one of the towels 26 it is obvious that we count the actual number of towels which pass into the stack and not the strokes of the stacking plunger. The stop I53 is reset by the plunger I5I in the same movement that raises the article which has just passed beyond the stop I53. For this purpose the plunger I5I has an extension arm I15 with a pad I16 which is adapted to engage a projection I11 which is attached to one of the tubes I54 of the stop plate I53. v When the tube I54 passes above the latch I56 the latch is reset by the spring I51. The position of the arm I15 and the projection I11 is so designed that when the plunger I5I rises it will have lifted the folded article away from the stop I63 before the pad I16 engages the projection I11. The stop I53 is thus brought back into position before the next article can reach it. In this connection it should also be noted that the projection I13 on the ratchet I12 must have been actuated to permit the latch I56 to operate. Consequently the stop I53 can not be reset until a towel has actually passed beyond it to the stop I63 and be raised so as to actuate the wing plate I58, as previously described. Consequently there is no possibility of actuating the counter without an actual towel going into position either in the main stack or in the projected line. If the stack-' ing mechanism does not receive a-towel it does not count. The number of teeth on the ratchet I12 and the number of projections I13 will determine the number 'of towels in each group or bundle.

In case a towel has become torn or damaged so that it would not be desirable to staclc' it with the 5 other towels it may be allowed to pass entirely through the machine by retracting stops I53 and I63 so that it will be permitted to fall into a suitable receptacle.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that other stops might be interposed in the path of the moving articles and that the articles may be arranged in one or more preceding stacks, which will be described.

It will also be obvious that if these actions are to be controlledby the operator there must be a time delay mechanism arranged to be operated automatically under the control of the operator so that the operator when inspecting the article 70 as it goes into the machine can predetermine the final disposition of the article, regardless of the fact that several articles have preceded the one being inspected and others may follow before the selective action must take place. All of this must ,76

be controlled by an initial act on the .part of the operator which requires no further attention.

In the construction shown the switch actuated by the push button I8I controls the disposition of an article to the second grade stack and the button I82 controls the disposition of the torn towels. As I have already described the stops I53 and I63 I will first trace the construction and action for disposing of the torn towels.

The delayed action mechanism includes a rotating member or wheel I83 which is driven with the other parts of the mechanism from the pinion I84 on the main drive shaft 34. This pinion meshes with the larger gear I85. This member I83 carries at its periphery a number of teeth or fingers I86, each of which is pivoted on an axis tangential to the circumference of the wheel member I83 so that it can stand in the same plane with the wheel member or may be tilted to one side or the other, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 17.

Fig. 19 shows the details of one form of construction to facilitate this action. It will be seen that a spring-pressed plunger I81 has a notch which receives the tip I88 of the finger so as to hold the finger normally in its central position. Each finger has two flattened surfaces I89 inclined toward each other so that they can alternatively coact with the outer face of the plunger I81 to hold the finger in an inclined position. A lever I90 is mounted adjacent the periphery of the rotary member and provided with a channellike shoe I9I adapted to engage the tip of a finger as the member I83 brings-each finger into the vicinity of the shoe. The upper end of this lever I90 is connected to the plungers of two solenoids I92 and I93 which are in electric circuits controlled respectively by the push buttons I82 and I8I. When the push button I82 closes the circuit the solenoid I92 is energized and tilts the lever I90 clockwise so that the shoe I9I will tilt to the left, as shown in Fig. 17, the finger which happens to be within the channel.

An arm I94 is carried by the rock-shaft I95. The other end of this shaft has an arm I96 with a hook member I91 which extends over the latch I56. This arm I96 and the connected hook member are normally biased by the spring I98. The latch I56 normally holds up the supporting plates I54 and I64 but the extent of engagement of the hook member is such that the latch member I56 may be retracted by the action of the counter previously described, sufficiently to release the supporting plate I54 without releasing the supporting plate I64. When the push button I82 is actuated, however, the solenoid I92 tilts the lever I90 and throws the finger I86 to the left where it stays for the time being. When the delay action member I83 has revolved far enough to bring the tilted finger against the arm I94, the shaft I95 with the attached rocker arm I96 and hook member I91 will be operated so as to pull out the latch I56 and permit both of the stop member supporting plates I54 and I64 to drop, thus retracting the stops I53 and I63. It is obvious, therefore, that the next towel that arrives in the stacker will pass right on through without being held up and without being stacked and will fall onto the floor or into a suitable receptacle if one is provided.

As soon as the torn towel has passed through the machine the rising of the plunger I5I will cause the pad I16 to engage and lift the lower end I11 of the plate I54 and reset the stop I53. At the same time the pad I 99 on the arm I15 will engage the lower end 200 of the other supporting plate and reset the stop I63.

The latch member I56 being under the tension of the spring I01 will be interposed beneath the edges of the plates I54 and I64 and holdthem 6 in their elevated positions. The finger I86 which has caused the ejecting action of the torn towel is reset by its engagement with the inclined cam member 201 as the wheel I83 rotates.

The stop mechanism for causing the second 10 grade towels to be fed into the bottom of the stack I46 is set in a similar manner by first pressing the push button I8I which controls the circuit of the solenoid I93. The spring 202 which is connected to the upper end of the lever I90 serves 15 to "return the lever and attached solenoid plungers to the neutral position when the solenoids are de-energized. The arm 203 is carried by the rock shaft 204 in a position to be engaged by any one of the fingers I86 when it has been tilted 20 to the right by the action of the solenoid I93 and the shoe I9I.

Stack I46 has two sets of stops 205 and 2I5 for the folded articles, corresponding generally to the stops I53 and I63 (see Figs. 13 and 16.) 25 These stops are arranged in pairs and pivoted so as to swing outwardly and inwardly with respect to the conveyor belts 29. The stop plates 205 are carried by levers which are pivoted on the stud 206. These stop levers have arms 201, 30 201 which have a pin and slot connection 208 which causes the two stop lovers to operate together. A latch 209 normally engages a projection 201' on one of the stop levers to hold it in the retracted position so that the stop plate is retracted out of the path of movement of the towels as they travel through the stacker.

The spring 2I0 which is connected to one of the stop levers tends to bias the stop levers and their plates into the stopping position which is, 0 as above mentioned, normally resisted by the action of the latch 209. The shaft 204 has an arm 2II connected by a link 2I2 to the latch 209. When the push button I8I is depressed the solenoid I93 is actuated and tilts the lever I90 so that the shoe I9I tilts the engaged finger I86 toward the right as viewed in Fig. 17. When this deflected finger strikes the arm 203 it rocks the shaft 204 and the attached arm 2 and thus retracts the latch 209 so that the spring 2I0 can tilt the stop levers into the position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 16. The upper ends of these stop levers or plates are thus interposed in the path of the approaching towel which is stopped in a predetermined position to be inserted into the bottom of the stack on the lifting stroke of the bottom plate I50 which then takes place. The action of the wing plates I58 is the same as that previously described with respect to stack I45. As the plunger I5I rises the projecm tion 2 I3, which is carried by it, engages beneath the connected ends of the lever arms 201 and tilts'them so as to retract the stop plates which are then caught by the latch 209, previously described, and held retracted until the operator C5 again actuates the push button switch I81.

The cam 2I4 which is opposite the cam 20| serves to automatically re-center any finger I86 which has been previously tilted to the right.

The second pair of stop plates 2I5 are con- 70 structed and operated in a manner similar to the stop plates 205 except that their action is for the purpose of dividing the stack into bundles of a predetermined number. For this purpose counting mechanism is provided which, after a. 75

predetermined number of towels have been inserted in the stack I46, will automatically prevent the stops 205 from acting and the stops 2!5 will be actuated. This counting mechanism includes a tilting wing member 2I8 which is actuated by each towel as it passes into the stack I46. A plate 2!! connected to this wing plate lever coacts with a roller on the outer end of the lever 2I8. The latter lever is connected by a link 2!5! to the pawl arm 22!]. Every time this pawl arm is oscillated it turns the ratchet 22! one tooth. A latch lever 222 has one end in the form of a hook to engage a hook 295 on one of the stop levers 205. The other end of this latch lever projects into the path of movement of a projection 22! whichis carried by the ratchet 22!. Consequently after a predetermined number of operations of the wing lever 2 I6 the ratchet member 22! and its projection 22! will actuate the latch lever 222 and engage the hook 205' of the stop lever 205 so as to prevent the operation of that stop lever and its mate on the other side of the stack. The result will be that the next towel which comes along on the conveyor 29 will continue until it strikes the stop plates 2!5 which are constructed and operate in a manner similar to the construction and operation of the stop levers 265 except for this locking-out feature.

It will thus be seen that that particular towel projects beyond a line of the other towels in the stack and serves as an indication of the proper point of separation of the bundles.

As soon as the projection 22! passes the nose of the latch lever 222 the latch lever will be tilted in a suitable manner as for instance by a spring (not shown) so as to retract the inner end from the hook 285' and thus leave the stop members 205 free to act in response to the next action of the push button I8I.

From the forgoing it will be seen that the disposition or segregation of the respective towels is under the manual control of the operator who inspects the towels they are automatically picked up and fed into the machine. If the operator decides that a towel is soiled or needs to be washed over again she merely presses the push button I2! which actuates the solenoid I24 and the release device I2l'l which automatically disengages the washover without any further attention on the part of the operator.

If the towel isin first class condition no action on the part of the operator is required. The towel is automatically carried into the folding mechanism, folded and conveyed to the stacker where it is automatically placed in the bottom of stack I45.

When a predetermined number of first class articles have been inserted in stack I45 the counting mechanism automatically causes the next article to be projected beyond the edge of the other articles in the stack to denote a line of division.

If the operator notices a torn or damaged towel which should not be stacked with the other towels she presses push button I82 which sets in motion the delayed action mechanism for retr-acting the stops of stack I45. In the particular machine described there may be at one time six towels in various positions in addition to the one being inspected, namely, three towels carried by the conveyor, one on the folding table being folded lengthwise, one in the chute receiving the cross fold, and one on the conveyor belt approaching the stacker. The delayed action mechanism is accordingly provided with eight of the selective fingers, six of which may be termed active and represent towels in the machine whose segregation is determined by the position of the respective fingers and their possible subsequent operation. The other two fingers represent the time required to rc-center the previously set fingers.

It should be understood that additional stacks might be provided controlled in a similar manner and that the length of the conveyor chains and 10 the number of sets of grippers carried by it might be increased or decreased, in which case a corresponding increase or decrease in the number of active fingers would be required.

In the mechanism described the conveyor 15 chains are operated continuously when the machine has once been started. The' operator is thus able to concentrate attention upon the alignment of the towels to be picked up and the inspection and classification or segregation accord- 2o ing to some predetermined instructions.

This construction and arrangement greatly increases the possible speed of the machine and the accuracy of inspection since the operator does not have to perform any pick-up motion and 25 since the action of the mechanism is timed automatically.

Another feature of considerable importance is the automatic clearing action which removes from the folding mechanism any towel which 30 may become jammed in the folder. While this by itself seems a simple feature it should be borne in mind that whenever an article does get jammed in the machine it may tie up the operation of the machine for a considerable period of 35 time.

The mechanism also to a maximum degree avoids the possibility of injury to the operator since it is unnecessary to come into contact with any part of the folding mechanism. 4;)

I claim:

1. In a folding machine, pick-up means permitting inspection of articles, conveying means receiving articles from the pick-up means, means for folding articles, means for removing the ar-- 43 ticles from the conveying means and delivering the articles to the folding means, means for automatically removing articles which may become jammed in the folding means, a number of stacking devices, means for transferring folded articles from the folding means to the stacking devices and means controlled by the operator for throwing out articles to be rewashed and for predetermining to which stacking device the folded articles will be transferred.

2. In a folding machine, pick-up means permitting inspection of articles, conveying means receiving articles from the pick-up means, means for folding articles, means for removing the articles from the conveying means and delivering 69 the articles to the folding means, means for automatically removing articles which may become jammed in the folding means, a number of stacking devices, means for transferring folded articles from the folding means to the stacking 65 devices and means controlled by the operator for predetermining to which stacking device the folded articles will be transferred.

3. In a folding machine, pick-up means permitting inspection of articles, conveying means 70 receiving articles from the pick-up means, means for folding articles, means for removing the articles from the conveying means and delivering the articles to the folding means, 'a number ofstacking'devices, means for transferring folded articles from the folding means to the stacking devices and means controlled by the operator for predetermining to which stacking device the folded articles will be transferred.

4. In a folding machine, pick-up means permitting inspection of articles, conveying means receiving articles from the pick-up means, means for folding'articles, means for removing the articles from the conveying means and delivering the articles to the folding means, means for automatically removing articles which may become jammed in the folding means, a numberof stacking devices, and means for transferring folded articles from the folding means to the stacking devices.

5.- In a folding machine, means for ejecting articles to be rewashed, means for folding articles, means for delivering the articles to the folding means, a number of stacking devices, means for transferring folded articles from the folding means to the stacking devices and means controlled by the operator for predetermining to which stacking device the folded articles will be transferred.

6. In a folding machine, means for folding articles, means for delivering the articles to the folding means, means for automatically removing articles which may become jammed in the folding means, a number of stacking devices, means for transferring folded articles from the folding means to the stacking devices and means controlled by the operator for throwing out articles to be rewashed and for predetermining to which stacking device the folded articles will be transferred. 7

7. In a folding machine, means for folding articles, means for automatically removing articles which may have become jammed in the folding means, and means controlled by an operator for segregating folded articles into classes.

8. In a folding machine, the combination of conveying grippers for carrying articles to be folded, means for releasing the grippers, means adapted to be actuated by an operator to set said means in position to release an article, a latch device for holding the release means in its actuating position, and means actuated by the passage of the conveying grippers for releasing the latch device and retracting said release means.

9. Pick-up mechanism for a folding machine comprising vertically movable means including arms having contact feet and levers carried by said arms and having points for protruding through said feet, latching means coacting with said arms and said levers, and means actuated by the lifting of said members to release said latching means.

10. In a folding machine, a stacking device having multiple stops, means for feeding folded articles in the machine to engage said stops, means for at will retracting one or more of said stops, and means for automatically resetting said stops.

11. A stacking device for a folding machine comprising a stacker, means for feeding folded articles successively to the bottom of the stack, a stop for normally determining the position of folded articles in the stack, means actuated by the articles as they pass into the stacker for retracting said stop after a predetermined number of articles have passed into the stacker.

12. In a folding machine means for classifying movable articles including spaced stop members, a rotating member having fingers adapted to be moved to either side of the central plane of said member, mechanism for controlling said stop members adapted to be actuated by said fingers, and means controlled by the operator for setting said fingers. 5

13. In a folding machine, means for folding articles, means for delivering articles to the folding means, means for automatically removing articles which may become jammed in the folding means, a stacking device, means for transfer- 10 ring folded articles from the folding means to the stacking device, means controlled by the operator for throwing out articles to be rewashed and means for diverting articles from the stacking device.

14. In a folding machine, a plurality of stacking devices, means for controlling the passage of folded articles into either stacking device and means actuated by the movement of a folded article for counting the articles inserted into each 20 stack independently.

15. In a folding machine, means for ejecting torn articles, means for removing articles to be rewashed, and means for stacking first class folded articles. 25

16. In a folding machine, folding devices, conveyors having edge gripping devices travelling to the folding devices, means for picking up the edge of an article on a pile and transferring the article to said edge gripping devices, means for 30 ejecting imperfect articles before they reach the folding devices and means for conveying folded articles away from the folding devices.

17. In a folding machine, folding means, a conveyor for carrying successive articles to the fold- 35 ing means, a stacking device, means for conveying folded articles to the stacking device, means for ejecting an article before it can reach the folding means, means for removing-a jammed article after partial folding and before stacking 40 and means for removing a torn article after folding.

18. In a folding machine, folding means, a conveyor for carrying successive articles to the folding means, a stacking device, means for conveying folded articles to the stacking device, means for ejecting an article before it can reach the folding means, means for removing a jammed article after partial folding and before stacking, and means for removing a torn article after folding, and means under the control of an operator for actuating the ejecting means and the removing means when desired.

19. In a folding machine, folding devices, means for successively feeding articles to the folding devices, a plurality of stacking devices arranged successively, means for conveying folded articles from the folding devices past one stacking device to the other stacking device, means controlled by an operator for determining before the article is folded to which stacking device the folded article is to go.

20. In a folding machine, folding devices, means for successively feeding articles to the folding devices, a plurality of stacking devices arranged successively, means for conveying folded articles from the folding devices past one stacking device to the other stacking device, means controlled by an operator for determining to which stacking device the folded article is to go and means for ejecting a folded article without stacking and without stopping the other operations of the machine.

JOHN E. PRESTON. 

